Determinants of chronic disease acceptance

Introduction: The process of chronic disease acceptance is long-lasting and varies depending on the type of disease, and it is conditioned by factors that have their cause both in the course of the disease and in the socio-demographic situation. Aim of the study: To identify the determinants of chronic disease acceptance. Material and methods: A diagnostic survey was conducted through the Helpful Hand Foundation and in the John Paul II Specialist Hospital in Cracow at the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases with Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, among 150 patients aged 32-60 years, with diagnosed multiple sclerosis, heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The study used standardized tools: the Beck Depression Inventory, Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS), and the author’s survey questionnaire. The IBM SPSS 26.0 package was used for statistical analysis, and a significance level of p < 0.05 was assumed for all statistical calculations. Results: The average degree of the acceptance of illness according to the AIS scale among all 150 respondents was 27.31 points, which indicates an average degree of acceptance of illness by the respondents. Higher scores in the AIS scale were obtained by subjects who were in remission (p = 0.007) and who lived in small towns (p = 0.044). Conclusions: The results confirm a relationship between the acceptance level of disease and selected elements of the course of disease and demographic variables. Patients’ acceptance of the disease should be taken into account in therapeutic interventions due to the possibility of undertaking measures aimed at eliminating some of the unfavourable factors conditioning the acceptance of disease.